Combing machinery



Oct. 31, 1967 J- CLARKSON COMBING MACHINERY Filed April 8. 1964 United States Patent 3,349,440 COMBING MACHINERY Jack Clarkson, Bradford, England, assignor to Sir James Hill & Sons Limited, Yorkshire, England, a British company Filed Apr. 8, 1964, Ser. No. 358,184 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 28, 1963, 21,317/63 2 Claims. (Cl. 1922) This invention relates to combing machinery and has for an object to provide a combing machine of improved efficiency.

Accordingly, there is provided a combing machine having two sets of pins, each set having a portion thereof lying adjacent and approximately perpendicular to each other, with these sets of pins being adapted to move so that the pins of each set move adjacent and downwardly relatively to the pins of the other set, i.e. each set of pins moves from the tip to the root of the other set of pins.

The invention also comprises a combing machine having two annular members located in planes approximately perpendicular to one another and having portions thereof adjacent to one another, each annular member bearing a set of perpendicular pins extending approximately perpendicularly out of the plane of their respective annular member so that upon rotation of the annular members each set of pins moves past one another with a downward component relative to the pins of the other set.

Preferably one of the two annular members is located within the other of the two annular members and has its axis in the plane of the other annular member.

An example of the invention will now be particularly described with reference to the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a combing machine constructed in accordance with the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section along the line IIII of FIGURE 1 on an enlarged scale.

In FIGURE 1, an annulus or circular ring 1 has a flattened side-face which bears a set of upstanding pins 2. Another smaller annulus or ring 3, having a similar set of pins 4, as shown in FIG. 2, lies within the ring 1 so that a portion of each ring lies adjacent to one another, with the ring 3 being approximately perpendicular to the ring 1 with its axis located in the plane of the ring 1. The two sets of pins 2 and 4 (FIG. 2) each extend outwardly from their respective annular members 1 and 3 in a direction perpendicular to the plane of their respective annular members.

The slivers, for example, of wool, which are fibers, in rope like form, previously processed so that all the fibers within one sliver lie reasonably parallel to the long axis of the sliver, are prepared and presented to the ring 1 by suitable means and pressed or dabbled lightly into the pins 2 by brushes 5, though press knives or a similar device could be used. The brushes 5 press the fibers into the pins of the ring 1 in such a manner that the fibers lie within the pins approximately parallel to the radius of the ring 1 and continual rotation of the ring 1 carries these slivers, which have a protruding fringe of fibers, against the opposing pins of the ring 3. The ring 3 also rotates (FIG. 2) in such a manner that the set of pins 4 move in a direction opposite to the direction in which the pins 2 of the ring 1 are pointing. In other words each set of pins moves past, with a downward component relatively to, the other set of pins, i.e. each set of pins moves from the tip to the root of the other set of pins while at the same time the two sets of pins move laterally with respect to one another clue to their own rotary motions.

The fringe of the fibers held by the set of pins 2 impales itself on the other set of pins 4, and by this action the fringe completes the dabbing operations and also resideof the ring 1 3,349,440 Patented Oct. 31, 1967 ceives an initial combing action. Any fibers which are taken by the ring 3 have received an initial combing by the pins 2 of the ring 1. The uncombed portions of the fibers held within both sets of pins are combed by reason of being drawn through the pins by which they are held when they are detached therefrom by the detaching or drawing-01f rollers 6. By reason of the continuous presen- -tation of the fiber to the detaching rollers 6, the fibers .This sliver is united with the combed product from an identical combing arrangement situated at the opposite and this total product is taken to a collection device outside the combingmachine proper. A larger number of the smaller rings 3 can be used.

In this machine, the short fibers and impurities remaining in the pins 4 of the ring 3 after the longer fibers have been detached, are removed or plowed out of the pins by means of specially shaped knives 8. This reject, called noil, falls away from the plow knives and down a suitable collection chute 9.

Since in this machine the dabbing action is completed by the same action as the initial combing action, production can be increased because of the reduction in the limitations on the speed which are imposed by the normal, single, dabbing action. Other advantages afforded by this machine are the reduction in the space occupied by each of the combing points provided within the ring 1 thus allowing an increased number of combing points to be provided within the ring 1, and the reduction in the maintenance time. In some other machines, the rings 3 normally encircle the dabbing devices and as a consequence are diflicult to remove for maintenance purposes but with the improved machine the perpendicular rings 1 require comparatively little effort to be removed.

It will be appreciated that one of the advantages of this machine is the fact that the bulk of the dabbing device may be much reduced compared to the usual dabbing devices, and this renders it possible to cause the dabbing device, smaller ring or rings and all the accompanying machinery to be rotated without using a considerable amount of power, and=this rotation enables the larger ring to be held stationary. This arrangement has the advantage that it allows the machine to be fed from stationary packages instead of requiring the raw material to rotate with the larger circle.

Finally, the efficiency of the combing action itself is improved since the pins opposing the travel of the fringes make it more difiicult for faults and impurities to escape the combing action.

It will be appreciated that many of these combing machines may be arranged alongside one another to form a single large compound machine.

The invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity to the showings in the drawings but changes or modifications may be made therein so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A combing machine for textile fibers including two rotatable annular members mounted for relative rotation in planes approximately perpendicular to each another so that portions of each annular member pass adjacent to one another, a set of projecting pins on each annular member extending parallel with the axis of rotation of the annular member carrying the pins, means for pressing the fibers into the pins of the set on one of the annular members so that the fibers lie within the pins approximately parallel to the radius of the annular member, so that upon continued relative rotation between the annular members, each set of pins moves adjacently past, with a component downward relatively to, the other set of pins and the fibers are carried against the pins on the other annular member and drawing ofi rollers located adjacent to at least one set of said pins.

2. A combing machine for textile fibers including two annular members located in planes approximately perpendicular to one another, one of said annular members being adapted to rotate both in its own plane and also in the plane of the axis of the other annular member so that portions of the first annular member can pass adjacent to portions of the second annular member, a set of projecting pins on each annular member extending parallel with the axis of rotation of the annular member carrying the pins, means for pressing the fibers into the set of pins on said other annular member whereby the fibers lie within the pins approximately parallel to the radius of said annular member so that upon the first annular member rotating in both said planes, each set of pins moves adjacently past with a component downward relatively to the other set of pins and the fibers are carried against the pins on said other annular member, drawing 01f rollers located adjacent to at least one set of said pins and a knife located adjacent one of the sets of pins for removing the short fibers from said set of pins.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 788,416 4/1905 Meunier 19124 1,101,496 6/1914 Long 19124 1,664,951 4/1928 Southwell 19123 2,384,344 9/1945 Sarkisian 19122 FOREIGN PATENTS 683 1868 Great Britain. 11,004 1845 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

20 D. NEWTON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A COMBING MACHINE FOR TEXTILE FIBERS INCLUDING TWO ROTATABLE ANNULAR MEMBERS MOUNTED FOR RELATIVE ROTATION IN PLANES APPROXIMATELY PERPENDICULAR TO EACH ANOTHER SO THAT PORTIONS OF EACH ANNULAR MEMBER PASS ADJACENT TO ONE ANOTHER, A SET OF PROJECTING PINS ON EACH ANNULAR MEMBER EXTENDING PARALLEL WITH THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE ANNULAR MEMBER CARRYING THE PINS, MEANS FOR PRESSING THE FIBERS INTO THE PINS OF THE SET ON ONE OF THE ANNULAR MEMBERS SO THAT THE FIBERS LIE WITHIN THE PINS APROXIMATELY PARALLEL TO THE RADIUS OF THE ANNULAR MEMBER, SO THAT UPON CONTINUED RELATIVE ROTATION BETWEEN THE ANNULAR MEMBERS, EACH SET OF PINS MOVES ADJACENTLY PAST, WITH A COMPONENT DOWNWARD RELATIVELY TO, THE OTHER SET OF PINS AND THE FIBERS ARE CARRIED AGAINST THE PINS ON THE OTHER ANNULAR MEMBER AND DRAWING OFF ROLLERS LOCATED ADJACENT TO AT LEAST ONE SET OF SAID PINS. 